I first discovered David Plumlee when I started making jewelry six years ago. Chain maille is one of the jewelry styles I admire, so I fell in love with David's work. He takes chain maille and adds his own special touch to it, adding beads, mixing metals, and creating his own unique designs.

In this book, David adapts and builds upon the Byzantine weave, a common and (to most) easily learned weave. I've made several of his projects in his other books, and this book continues the tradition of plentiful and wonderfully photographed instructions. (I'm partial to photographs rather than drawings of chain maille instructions -- to me, they're easier to follow.)

The projects are gorgeous and rich. This is NOT your basic chain maille book! My favorite section is Plumlee's "Organic Formations" chapter. Here, he teaches you how to make a Beaded Fish formation (which translates into a set of jewelry), Beaded Byzantine Cross earrings, Beaded Snowflake variations, and a Beaded Butterfly formation (also for a jewelry set).

If you are a chain maille enthusiast -- buy this book. It's a must-have. It will excite your imagination and give you options like you won't believe.

If you've never tried chain maille -- buy it, make the byzantine bracelet in the first project a few times, then dive in. Once you master some of the easier pieces, try out the rest of the projects. Some are definitely easier than others, and you can usually tell by looking at them which are the toughies. But once you get a few under your belt, you'll be fine. And you'll WANT to try these projects once you see them!